The following Wednesday Peyton was on her way to cheerleading practice when her car broke down. She slammed her head into the steering wheel as she tried to think of someone to call. Her first thought was Haley, but Haley didn't have a cell phone. So then she thought of Nathan.
She pulled out her phone and dialed his number. It rang once, twice, three times before going to voice mail. She shut her phone without leaving a message. She groaned and decided to call Brooke. There was something about Brooke, she was nothing like Haley, but maybe that's what made Peyton want to be her friend. She was nothing like anyone Peyton had ever been friends with, actually.
Unfortunately Brooke's cell phone was off. Peyton groaned and threw her phone down. Now she wasn't sure who to call. Then she remembered; she had the number to Nathan's apartment. Maybe someone would be there. She found her phone on the floor and found the number in her contacts list.
She pressed send and listened to it ring. Once, twice, six times it rang. She was about to hit the end button when the line clicked and she heard a voice on the other end. "Hello," he was slightly out of breath.
Peyton bit her lip. It wasn't Nathan, which meant that it was Lucas. "Hey, um, is Nathan there?" she asked.
Lucas took a few second to regain his composure. He had been getting out of the shower, so he had run to get to the phone. Then he couldn't find it. He had had to dig through piles of stuff to get to it. He thought for a moment. "No, actually he's gone right now. He went to practice without me because I was running late. This is Peyton, right?" he asked.
Peyton sighed. "Yeah, well, I guess I won't keep you," she said, getting ready to hang up.
"Wait, is something wrong?" Lucas hurried to ask before she hung up. He could hear the distress in her voice.
Peyton bit her lip. "My car just kind of broke down and I really have no one to come pick me up. Don't worry about it, though. I'll call a tow truck or something," she said.
Lucas thought about it. He could make it to practice if he left now. He hadn't missed a practice before. Though, he couldn't really leave her all alone, even if he missed the whole practice. His mind was made up. "Where are you?" he asked.
Peyton looked around, and answered his question. "You really don't have to come. I know you have practice. I can figure something else out," she said.
Lucas looked at his clock. "I'll be there in about ten minutes. I just need to put some clothes on first," he said before hanging up. Peyton heard the dial tone and closed her phone. She wondered briefly why she wasn't wearing clothes, but then just sat back to wait.
Exactly seven minutes later Lucas's car pulled up behind hers. Peyton got out of her car just as he got out of his. "If you can pop the hood, I'll check it out before we call the tow truck," he said.
Peyton opened the door to her car and reached under her seat to hit the latch to pop the hood. Lucas lifted the hood and put the rod up that would hold it up. Peyton leaned against her car, holding the folder than contained her drawings. She didn't want to leave them in the car.
A few minutes later Lucas straightened and walked over to Peyton. "I can fix it for you if we go get the part. I won't even charge you for it," he added with a smirk.
Peyton smiled gratefully at him. "Thanks a lot. Seriously, I'd be stranded if it wasn't for you. You really don't have to fix it if you don't want to. I can still call a tow truck," she offered once again.
Lucas shook his head. "Nah, it's no big deal. I'll fix it for you. I want to. You want to come with me to get the part, or do you want me to drop you off somewhere?" he asked as he lowered the hood.
Peyton made sure the car was locked. "I'll go with you, if you don't mind the company," she answered. To be honest, she didn't want to leave her car alone, with him or anybody else.
Lucas nodded and walked to his car. "Yeah, sure, I'd love the company," he answered. They both got into his car and he drove to the nearest parts store. He picked out the part he needed and got out the money to pay for it.
Peyton stopped him. "No, you've already done too much. I can't ask you to pay for the part, too. I'd be asking too much of you. I should be paying you money, not the other way around," she protested.
Lucas reached around her and handed the money to the cashier. "I told you, I want to. It's no big deal," he said with a shrug before grabbing the part and heading for the door.
Peyton followed him, but didn't say anything else. She could tell Lucas's mind was already made up, and nothing she said would change that. Lucas was holding the passenger side door to his car open for her. She casually slid into the car and he closed the door behind her his smirk in place on his face.
He drove back to where her car was parked. "Don't you need tools or something, or do you have some kind of special power for fixing cars?" she asked sarcastically.
Lucas smirked at her, but he didn't say anything as he got out of the car, holding the part. He popped the trunk of his car, so Peyton couldn't see what he was doing when he went through it. She got out of the car and followed him to the trunk, where he was digging around in a tool chest.
Lucas looked over at her with that smirk that was beginning to infuriate her. "So, are you going to pop the hood of your car?" he asked.
Peyton sighed in exasperation and walked to her car. She unlocked the door and reached under to seat to hit the latch. Lucas walked over and lifted it. He started working and Peyton watched him for a minute.
After about five minutes she got bored with that, though, so she sat next to her car and started to draw. She didn't even realize he was finished until he was standing in front of her. She immediately pulled the drawing to her chest and looked up at him. "I'm done. There's still about a half hour of practice left if you want to go," he said.
Peyton looked up at him. Lucas held his hand out to help her up. Peyton reluctantly took it and he pulled her to her feet. There was a shock of electricity that shot through her body at his touch. As soon as she was on her feet she let go of his hand, but she couldn't break the eye contact.
She swallowed and bit her lip. "What are you going to do?" she asked. It was an innocent question, but Nathan was the furthest thing from her mind, and she wanted to spend time with Lucas in a not-so-innocent way.
Lucas smirked, he had, for the moment forgot about Brooke because of the blonde in front of him. "Well, we could go back to my apartment and order a pizza," he paused. "I might even let you pay for it," he added.
Peyton rolled her eyes at him, trying to act disinterested. "Okay, then, you're on. Let's go," she said. Then she turned and walked to her car. Lucas walked to his own car and they both drove over to his apartment.
Forty-five minutes later they were sitting on the couch in his apartment, sharing a pepperoni pizza with olives and they were talking and laughing. It was actually pretty innocent, a kind of thing friends would do, but the way they looked at each other wasn't as innocent as the conversation.
"So, why exactly are you a cheerleader?" Lucas asked her. Peyton looked at him in confusion. "I mean, neither you nor Haley seem the cheerleader type. Haley already told me that she was a cheerleader because of you. What I can't figure out is, why do you do it?" he continued.
Peyton bit her lip. "My mom always wanted me to be a cheerleader," she said simply. He could tell that was not the whole story, but he didn't want to push it. That was what made her decide to tell him, because he didn't force her to. "Actually, my dad's the reason I became a cheerleader. He always wanted me to be a girly girl, even though I really wasn't. So since he died I've been trying to be what he wanted me to be," she had never told anybody that, not even Haley, really. Haley knew that she had her reasons, but Haley hadn't asked, and Peyton hadn't shared that particular detail.
Lucas nodded. "I know what you're going through," he said.
Peyton looked up at him, trying to put her walls back up. "How would you know? Both you and Nathan have your parents," she said.
Lucas shook his head slowly. "Actually, no, Nathan's mom isn't my real mother. Our dad got my mother pregnant shortly before he got Nathan's mom pregnant. My real mother died giving birth to me. Nathan's mom raised me like her own, but I've always wondered if it would have been different if my mom had lived," he said, looking down at the ground.
Peyton reached out and touched his hand. "I'm so sorry, Lucas, I didn't know," she said softly. He looked up and their eyes locked. They started leaning closer to each other.
A/N: Cliffhanger!! Sorry to do this to you, but I'm hoping to get more reviews if I left it like this. Will they kiss? What about Brooke and Nathan? I guess you'll have to wait to find out. Review and let me know what you think.
Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill, and no matter how many stories I write, or how many times I write disclaimers, that's never going to change.
